Bird Information
Here you will find a selection of noteworthy events and discoveries relating to Tanager Tours. We will try to keep the information current and hopefully interesting for you. Also, at the bottom of the page you can enjoy some photographs taken during our tours.
Our First Butterflying Tour!!!
When Kim Garwood, a recognized expert in Neotropical Butterflies, asked us to arrange a month-long tour for her in Central and Northern Peru, we were excited but unsure how it would work out - we'd only ever organized trips for birdwatchers! David Geale decided to "guide" the Central Peru section to see what it was all about, and it took him all of 2 hours to be hooked on butterflying! You can't report trip results as you would for a birding tour (in most cases, no one knows what species are rare, or endemic, or "sought-after"), but we had a hugely successful two weeks, photographing several hundred species of butterflies including many poorly-known species and at least one undescribed species. It was an exciting introduction to this new, specialized kind of ecotourism for us, and we hope to organize similar trips in the future. Here we present just five of David's pictures, for a small taste of what we found!
Riverside Mossmark |
Undescribed Angel |
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Glowing Banner |
Peruvian Piedtip |
New species of Herpsilochmus antwren at Pajchani |
Tawny-bellied Seedeater at Pampas del Heath |
New Species of Herpsilochmus antwren in Puno
On our first ever complete tour of Southern Peru in May 2011, we observed several species that are very-rarely seen in Peru, including Brown-hooded Gull, Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail, Ashy Antwren, Ochre-cheeked Spinetail, Yungas Tyrannulet, Short-tailed Finch, and lots of other specialties of the area like Green-capped Tanager, Scimitar-winged Piha, and Titicaca Grebe. However, the highlight of the trip was incredible views of a new species of Herpsilochmus antwren. Though it has been seen before (including twice by us on recce trips), our encounters really confirmed that this is a distinct species and not an isolated population of some other. Both male and female look very much like Ash-throated Antwren (but perhaps the male is paler on the underparts), but the song is much more similar to Creamy-bellied Antwren! The photo at right is a male taken during the tour.
Pampas del Heath Expedition
David Geale and Miguel Lezama led an expedition to the famous (but almost never-visited) Pampas del Heath in June 2011. We encountered a good variety of the local specialties, including many not found elsewhere in Peru; highlights included Red-winged and Small-billed Tinamous (both seen!), Peach-fronted Parakeet, Red-shouldered Macaw, Green-tailed Goldenthroat, and Black-masked Finch - and don't forget three different Jaguars seen during our boat trips! The best find, however, was a Tawny-bellied Seedeater - a species that we believe has only been seen once previously in Peru! The poor photo at left was the best we could do!
Sina Success
In May 2011, the Tanager Tours staff (Wim, David, Miguel, and Juve) got together and headed to the remote valley below Sina, in Puno, to look for some species that barely cross into Peru from the main ranges in Bolivia. We were very successful, finding the three most important targets - see photos below. David also made a recording of an antpitta call note that appears to be a Rufous-faced Antpitta - currently considered endemic to Bolivia! We'll have to return at a better time of year for antpitta song - we didn't hear a single species singing, so can't confirm this first Peruvian record for now!
Light-crowned Spinetail (photo from Sandia, but seen well at Sina too!) |
Hooded Mountain-Toucan |
Orange-browed Hemispingus |
Foothill Elaenia near Villa Rica |
Foothill Elaenia Rediscovered in Peru
Many birders find the variety of look-alike tyrannulets, elaenias, bristle-tyrants, and other small flycatchers found on the east slope of the Andes bewildering - but bird guides know to always pay attention to them! The Foothill Elaenia is perhaps the epitome of "overlookability." It was described in 2000 after ornithologists noticed its distinctive voice in southern Ecuador - and when they collected it and checked over museum specimens from other areas, they found a Foothill Elaenia that had been previously collected in the Apurimac Valley in southern Peru and had been misidentified (as Foest Elaenia). It further turns out that the Peruvian specimen's identification as Foothill Elaenia has been questioned by some experts. Until now, we believe the species had known with certainty only from Ecuador, but in July 2010 we found a pair near Villa Rica during a Central Peru tour! David Geale, Miguel Lezama, and Juvenal Ccahuana - the Tanager Tours staff on the trip - were thrilled to find such an enigmatic species, and are thankful to the clients for their patience: it took a while to document the record with sound recordings and photographs, one of which we show at right. Yes, it looks like a pretty generic small flycatcher, but notice the pale grey head, clear lemon yellow chest and well-defined whitish wing bars. More importantly, the sound recording below is more conclusive!
Koepcke's Screech-Owl nest |
Nest of Koepcke's Screech-Owl
On a short private tour to Abancay with Howard Clyman and Kathleen Roberts, David Geale, Miguel Lezama, and Juvenal Ccahuana observed a pair of Koepcke's Screech-Owls, including one that flew suspiciously into a small cave in a road cut. Returning a week later, David and Miguel were able to observe and photograph the first nest ever found - complete with 2 nestlings - of this rare Peruvian endemic.
Iquitos Recce Trip in May 2009
We are still trying to piece together a reasonably-priced and birdy Iquitos itinerary. Though we found some excellent species (including Helmeted Pygmy-Tyrant, Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant, Black-headed Antbird, Rufous-necked Puffbird, Lanceolated Monklet, Rusty-breasted Nunlet, and Yellow-billed and Blue-cheeked Jacamars) during this recce trip, which visited Project Amazonas field stations at Sabalillo, Madre Selva, and Paucarillo, we found two of the sites (Sabalillo & Paucarillo) too basic for most of our clients. Madre Selva was acceptable and enjoyable, but is remote and failed to produce one of our main targets, Wattled Curassow, probably due to the large human population in the area.
White-whiskered Puffbird (female) |
White-whiskered Puffbird, new for Peru
During a trip to the Tumbes Reserved Zone with Jim and Vicki King, Juvenal Ccahuana and Wim ten Have found 4 (!) different White-whiskered Puffbirds. The birds were all observed within 2 hours' walk of the INRENA station at El Caucho, and Jim was able to obtain photographs of two different female individuals. The observation has been published in Cotinga.
Some (very) good birds photographed on the Manu Road
In July 2007 Wim ten Have was with the Dutch couple Harvey van Diek/Annemarie van Krimpen and the Belgian bird guide Jürgen Beckers on a Manu trip. The short trip turned out to be a special one. Even Wim had some lifers, and everyone else had lots! Harvey (not only a sharp birder but also an excellent and quick photographer) got some shots of rare birds that are very difficult to photograph. It started the first day with 4 White-rumped Swallows at Lake Huacarpay near Cusco, a rare migrant from the south. On the same day at the Acjanaco pass a pair of Scribble-tailed Canastero, not only well seen, but also photographed. On the third day on the lower Manu Road two other good species in 15 minutes time: Cerulean-capped Manakin and Russet Antshrike. On our the return trip back up the road, Harvey was so fast that he had a picture of the manakin before the others could find the bird!
White-rumped Swallow |
Scribble-tailed Canastero |
Cerulean-capped Manakin |
Long-whiskered Owlet |
Long-whiskered Owlet, for the first time seen in wild
In February 2007, David Geale and Juvenal Ccahuana mist-netted 2 Long-whiskered Owlets and - more excitingly - saw this species three times during daylight at Abra Patricia - a big success for them and for the whole ornithological world. Previously, this species had only been mist-netted despite the fact that many birders searched for this near-mythical owl. It happened during their monitoring project of nearly two months for ECOAN. ECOAN bought a huge amount of land near the top of Abra Patricia and in September 2007 will open accomodation for birders and other tourists. Photo by David Geale.
Orange-throated Tanager and White-masked Antbird
In September 2006 we organized a small expedition for 4 Dutch birders to an area near Imazita as part of their Nothern Peru trip. They were very successful, reporting Orange-throated Tanager and White-masked Antbird. At the end of 2007 we (Wim, David, and Juvenal) will investigate the area better and hope to confirm the record of White-masked Antbird. [Although we did visit the area, we were forced to return without having a chance to visit the site where the antbird was reported! We will again visit Chikais in 2011, though on that trip we will also venture to the traditional site for White-masked Antbird at Tierra Blanca.]
Red-billed Ground-Cuckoo, first for Manu
On September 1 2006, Rob Farnes reported a Red-billed Ground-Cuckoo at an antswarm at Pantiacolla Lodge. This is a nearly unbelievable this first record for Manu, but the fact that the bird was observed during 20 minutes by a serious - although not experienced in South America - birder makes the observation reliable. In recent years, there have been similarly incredible reports of new species for Manu that nobody believed until the species was seen by other observers. Examples include Straw-backed Tanager and Blue-fronted Lancebill.
Records from the Sandia area
In May 2006, Tanager Tours did an exploratory trip to the Sandia area of SE Peru, hoping to find some new species for us and possibly offer tours to this area in the future. Our most significant sightings were Ashy Antwren, Ochre-cheeked Spinetail (both second or third records for Peru), and a very interesting Herpsilochmus antwren. David Geale had first observed this bird below Sandia in 2005, and now we had good views and sound recordings appearing to confirm that it was a Creamy-bellied Antwren. [2010: this taxon has now been collected and apparently is more simlar to Ash-throated Antwren, which is found only in northern Peru. It is quite possibly an undescribed species.] We also enjoyed amazing views of Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo and saw an undescribed (sub?)species of Fuscous Flycatcher previously known only from the Bolivian yungas. A full report can be found on our trip reports page.
Ring-billed Gull |
Ring-billed Gull, first record for Peru
On March 8th, 2006 Wim ten Have discovered an adult Ring-billed Gull at the river mouth in the National Sanctuary of Mejia, department Arequipa. The bird was resting with a large flock of Franklinīs Gulls. He was able to take one picture from a rather long distance before the group flew away.
Sira Tanager: an unsuccessful attempt
In May 2005 the people of Tanager Tours tried to find the Sira Tanager. This species is only known from the type locality in the Sira Mountains near Pucallpa, where it was collected in 1969. We tried another locality, thinking that if was more accessible and hoping to be able to show this bird in the future to our most dedicated customers. Unhappily one of us got lost in a very isolated area without trails and there was not enough time left to carry on with the expedition.We still believe that some very special birds like Sira Tanager, Helmeted Curassow and Rufous-brown Solitaire are possible, so we hope to return in the future. In a relatively short time we (especially David Geale) have already found 244 species of birds in this promising area.
"Manu Road" Tanager, new species for science
In June 2005 Juvenal Ccahuana and David Geale found the undescribed tanager along the Manu Road below Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. Since its discovery in 2001 by Gary Rosenberg, a single bird was collected in 2004, but until now that was it! This is surprising, because the Manu Road is the most birded place in Peru. In September 2006 David was even able to show the bird to a group of Tanager Tours birders. They are now the first lucky people that have seen the new tanager besides a few professional guides.
Records from Tumbes
In March 2005, Juvenal Ccahuana and Wim ten Have did a recce trip to Tumbes, the northernmost part of the Peruvian pacific slope. On March 17, they found a huge flock of around 600 Chestnut-collared Swallows nera Zorritos, well north of the species' normal range. The significance of this interesting observation is unknown. We also observed a Lemon-rumped Tanager in the Tumbes Reserved Zone, which represents the third observation for this species in Peru since its discovery in 2004.
Xenopsaris |
White-naped Xenopsaris: a new species for Peru
In July 2004, Wim ten Have visited Pampas del Heath, a remote and unique patch of savanna habitat in the Bahuaja-Sonene Reserve in Madre de Dios, with Renzo Zeppilli, Huw Lloyd, Barry Walker and Claudia Torres (mostly people from Manu Expeditions). On July 12, Renzo discovered an unusual becard-like flycatcher; the next morning we were able to relocate the bird and identify it as a White-naped Xenopsaris. Wim and Claudia were able to photograph this species - a first record for Peru! Huw published a short note which will be published in Cotinga in 2006.
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
In this section, but also on the other pages of our website you will find photos that us and our customers and made during our trips.
Some of these people have their own websites where you can find all their bird pictures, see the section Links
Contributors: James Ownby, Eduard Sangster,Bernard van Elegem,Markus Lagerqvist, Peter Nash, Michel Kuijpers, Dave van der Spoel, Roy de Haas, Rob Nachtegaal, Harvey van Diek .
Thanks to all for the permission to use the pictures!
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| TANAGER TOURS | ||
| Lima - Peru | ||
| Phone: | +51 1 9858 36609 | |
| e-mail: | info@tanagertours.com | |
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